Headgear such as a cap

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a headwear, in particular a cap, including a crown and a visor and a rigid sweatband integral with a curved part of the peripheral edge of the crown (and on which the visor is intended to be assembled, in which the sweatband includes at least a first hook and a second hook angularly spaced and angularly oriented in opposite directions to each other around the curved portion, and able to cooperate by elastic snap-fitting, respectively, with at least a first hook and a second hook of the visor in a direction of elastic assembly and disassembly of the visor on the sweatband.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns a headwear and in particular a cap, known as an American cap. The invention is not however by any means limited to this type of cap.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Classically, a headwear and more specifically a cap comprises two parts, a first part is formed by the crown intended to be secured, i.e. assembled, on the head of the wearer and which allows the headwear to be kept on the head. This crown also provides thermal and rain protection. A second part is formed by the visor that protects the wearer from excess light but also protects the face from rain, which is particularly appreciated by persons who wear glasses.

The visor can be of various shapes and sizes to accommodate the different aesthetic wishes of the wearer. However, visors are usually fixed so that a wearer has to choose between several pairs of crowns/visors without the combination made by the manufacturer being perfectly suitable for him/her. It is therefore understandable that these caps lack versatility.

To overcome this disadvantage, caps have been proposed with a removable visor so that it can be removably attached to the skullcap. Thus, a wearer can assemble the visor s/he wants according to the circumstances.

Document FR 2 765 458 proposes such a cap, in which the visor has a concave arched edge for attachment to the crown, and which has a wall substantially perpendicular to the visor for reversible attachment to the said crown by means of fastening means such as scratch strips. While a cap of this design does indeed allow a visor to be replaced easily, it has the disadvantage of being complex to manufacture, particularly with regard to the perpendicular fastening wall. Furthermore, this perpendicular fastening wall requires that the material used be at least semi-rigid.

Furthermore, the means of fastening used requires that the positioning before joining be very precise, which often requires several attempts, as the scratch straps tend to come together before proper positioning.

In document FR2985415, a cap was proposed to make a connection between the crown and the visor by means of press studs. Specifically, the crown comprises two parallel strips, one of which comprises several first fastening members and the other comprises several second fastening members, the members being distributed around an arc of a circle. The visor is provided with eyelets to pass through the first fastening elements so that the first elements pass through said eyelets and are fixed by elastic assembly with the second elements. In this way, the visor can be removably attached to the crown. However, this snap fastener technology proves to be unattractive since the thickness of the snap fasteners makes it difficult, if not impossible, to conceal them in the thickness of the strips. Furthermore, the very principle of fastening by means of connecting points at a distance from each other does not allow sufficient tension to be applied to the visor and/or the crown, or else requires very precise positioning and dimensioning of the visor eyelets and the first parts of the crown. For these reasons, this headwear is not suitable for a demanding wearer.

The invention more particularly aims at providing a simple, efficient and cost-effective solution to this problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This document therefore concerns a headwear, in particular a cap, comprising a crown and a visor and a rigid sweatband which is integral with a curved part of a peripheral edge of the crown and on which the visor is intended to be assembled, wherein the sweatband comprises at least a first hook and a second hook angularly spaced and angularly oriented in opposite directions to each other around said curved portion, and able to cooperate by elastic snap-fitting, respectively, with at least a first hook and a second hook of the visor in a direction of elastic assembly and disassembly of the visor on the sweatband.

According to the invention, the cooperation between the visor and the sweatband is carried out by means of elastically deformable hooks which ensure an elastic snap-fitting between the visor and the sweatband attached to the crown. The angular spacing of the hooks makes it possible to create two angularly spaced attachment points, which increases the rigidity of the assembly when the visor is assembled onto the sweatband. The proposed headwear configuration is simpler and faster to use than previous technology.

The fact that the hooks are oriented in opposite directions ensures a good elastic grip and guarantees that the visor is held in place on the sweatband.

According to another feature, the first hook and the second hook of the sweatband are angularly oriented towards the ends of said curved portion and wherein the first hook and the second hook of the visor are angularly oriented towards each other in the assembly position.

This arrangement thus provides a specific orientation of the hooks, which ensures elastic deformation of the visor in a direction perpendicular to the direction of assembly/disassembly of the visor.

Also, the visor can comprise a first wall or bottom wall and a second wall or top wall arranged at a distance from each other, the first wall can comprise a concave curved free edge intended to come to rest on said sweatband and connected at its angular ends to a first portion and a second angular end portion laterally delimiting a recess.

The term “angular” is here to be understood in relation to the portion, surface or more generally the element that is concavely or convexly curved.

The sweatband can comprise a flange extending angularly around said convexly curved portion of the crown, the first sweatband hook delimiting a first angular end of said flange and the second sweatband hook delimiting a second angular end of said flange.

In one design, the flange can be generally convexly curved and can be received in the recess in the lower wall of the visor in the assembly position of the visor on the sweatband.

Also, the first hook of the visor can define a first angular end of the recess and be formed at said first angular end portion and the second hook of the visor can be formed at a second angular end of the recess at said second angular end portion.

The first wall can comprise a surface delimiting a lower surface of the visor which can be flush with a lower face of the flange. The first wall can also abut the angular flange.

The first hook of the sweatband can be formed at a first angular end of the flange and the second sweatband hook can be formed at a second angular end of the angular flange.

The first hook and the second hook of the sweatband can each have a shape complementary to the first hook and the second hook of the visor, respectively.

In a concrete realisation of the headwear shown here, the sweatband is made of elastomer and the visor is made of plastic, e.g. polypropylene. The sweatband preferably has a higher rigidity than the visor.

The sweatband can comprise a central portion projecting outward from the crown, this central portion being interposed between the first and second walls of the visor. This arrangement allows the visor to be stiffened by inserting a central portion, preferably stiffer than the visor.

The crown can be shaped like a half-sphere with the visor extending outward from the crown in the position where the visor is assembled onto the sweatband. This assembly can thus form a crown such as a so-called American cap.

The invention will be better understood and other details, characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear when reading the following description, which is given as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic view in perspective and from the top of a cap according to the invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic perspective views of the underside of the cap in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the elastic connection between the visor and the sweatband attached to the crown;

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are schematic perspective views of part of the cap with the visor removed;

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view of part of the cap with the visor removed;

FIGS. 9 to 11 are schematic perspective views of a visor for a headwear according to the invention;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 to 3 are schematic views in perspective and in different orientations of a headwear 10 depending on the invention. The headwear here is a cap 10 called American cap since it includes a crown 12 or skullcap in the shape of a half-sphere. This crown 12 comprises a lower free peripheral edge 14 of which a curved part 16 is connected to a visor 18 for eye and/or face protection.

The different parts of the cap 10 are here exposed in relation to three directions in space, a first direction D1 is a direction perpendicular to the curved part 16 at a midpoint thereof, the second direction D2 is a direction perpendicular to the first direction D1 and a third direction D3 which is also perpendicular to the first direction D1.

The visor 18 shown here has a substantially straight shape in the first direction D1 and a substantially rounded shape in the second direction D2. However, it is easy to understand that the invention is not limited to this form of visor 18 and that it could be flat and substantially parallel to the first direction D1 and the second direction D2.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 to 8, the cap 10 also includes a sweatband 20 attached to the crown 12, this sweatband 20 being for example made of elastomer and can preferably have a higher rigidity than the visor 18, which can be made of softer plastic such as polypropylene or polyethylene. The interest of this difference in rigidity is to allow the visor 18 to be made of a lighter plastic material that can deform and have its shape imposed by the three-dimensional conformation, more specifically of a central portion of the sweatband 20 as will appear later.

The sweatband 20 is preferably a one-piece part obtained by moulding for example. The sweatband is described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8. It includes a band 22 attached to the crown 12 which is, for example, made of fabric but could be made of another material. The band 22 can be attached by sewing to the lower part of the crown 12 or skullcap. For this purpose, the band 22 is curved. The band 22 can consist of a first upper band 22 a and a second lower band 22 b. The first upper band 22 a is attached to the lower part 16 of the crown 12. More specifically, the first band 22 a is applied to the inner face of the curved part 16 of the crown 12 and forms, with the second lower band 22 b, a step 22 c whose thickness is close to the thickness of the crown 12 so that the second band 22 b is flush with the edge of the crown 12. Note that the first band 22 a has a concave curved surface facing towards the inside of the crown 12 and a convex curved face applied to the inner face of the crown 12 to achieve the fastening described above with the crown 12.

Furthermore, the sweatband 20 has a stiffening portion 23 extending from the band 22 opposite the crown 12 in the first direction D1. This portion 23 has a central portion 24 projecting outwardly from the crown 12 and having two lobes 24 a, 24 b defining a slit 24 c between them. There does not necessarily have to be a slit. However, the-system allows the sweatband 20 to be lightened without reducing its rigidity. The sweatband 20 is shaped to have a boss 26 extending downward from portion 23. This boss 26 extends angularly around the third direction D3 and follows the curvature of the curved part 16 of the crown 12 to which the band 22 is attached. This boss 26 forms an angular flange having a convex curved face 26 a connected at its two angular ends to a first 26 b and a second 26 c faces inclined obliquely with respect to the first direction D1 and are substantially symmetrical to each other with respect to a plane containing the second direction D2 and the third direction D3. The oblique inclination is such that the two faces 26 b, 26 c together form a cone open towards visor 18 or whose tip 28 is located inside the crown 12 (FIG. 3). These two faces 26 b, 26 c are each connected to convexly rounded portions, one of which is convexly rounded 30 and the other 32 is concavely rounded. Also, the convex curved faces 30 and concave curved faces 32 as well as the inclined faces 26 b, 26 c are substantially parallel to the third direction D3 and are connected to a lower face 26 d. More specifically, between the two faces 26 a, 26 b, the band 22 is curved so as to present a first diameter D1 in a first angular sector 31 of centre 28 and the diameter increases towards the faces 26 a, 26 b.

As shown below, the first face 26 b thus forms a first elastic snap-fitting hook and the second face 26 c forms a second elastic snap-fitting hook.

The visor 18 consists of a first wall 34 or bottom wall and a second wall 36 or top wall, the two walls 34, 36 being arranged at a distance from each other. The second wall 26 has a concave curved edge 36 a that is applied to the free edge of crown 12, just above the step 22 c, in order to hide the peripheral edge of the crown 12. The first wall 34 comprises a concave curved free edge 34 a delimiting with angular end portions including a first angular end portion 34 a defining 34 b, 34 c, recess 34 d.

The recess 34 d is thus delimited by the concave curved face 34 a intended to be applied to the convex curved face 26 a of the angular flange 26 of the sweatband 20. This concave curved face 34 a is connected at a first angular end to a first face 34 e inclined obliquely to the first direction D1 and at a second end to a second face 34 f inclined obliquely to the first direction D 1. The oblique inclination of the first 34 e and second 34 f surfaces is such that the two surfaces together form a cone which is open towards the visor 18 or whose tip 38 is located inside the crown 12 when the visor 18 is assembled onto the sweatband 20. These two surfaces 34 e, 34 f are each connected to rounded portions, one 40 of which is concavely rounded and the other 42 is convexly rounded (FIG. 11). The two convexly rounded portions 40 extend to the angled end portions 34 a, 34 b of the free edge of the first wall 34 of the visor 18.

As will be seen below, the first face 34 e thus forms a first elastic snap-fitting hook of the visor 18 and the second face 34 f forms a second elastic snap hook of the visor 18.

The assembly of the visor 18 is done as follows. The visor 18 is presented in front of the middle portion of a sweatband 20 and is assembled onto the sweatband 20 in such a way that the middle portion engages between a first wall 34 and a second wall 36. The visor 18 is elastically snap-fitted onto the sweatband by means of the first 34 e and second 34 f hooks of the visor 18 and the first 26 b and second 26 c hooks of the sweatband 20. Firstly, the convex rounded edges 42 of the visor 18 come into contact with the convex rounded edges 30 of the angular flange 26. The wearer continues to move the visor 18 in the first direction D1 and towards crown 12. The first face 34 e and second face 36 f of the visor 18 comes into contact with, respectively, the first face 26 b and second face 26 f of the angular flange 26. In this locking position of the visor 18 on the sweatband 20, the convex rounded faces 42 of the visor 18 come into contact with the concave rounded faces 32 of the angular flange 26 and the concave rounded faces 40 of the visor 18 come into contact with the convex rounded faces 30 of the angular flange 26. Due to the orientation of the first 34 e, 26 b and second 34 f, 26 c faces of the visor 18 and the angular flange 26, the visor 18 can be elastically retained on the sweatband 20.

Finally, it can be seen that in the assembly position of visor 18 onto the sweatband, the lower surface of the first wall 34 of the visor 18 is flush with the lower face 26 d of the flange 26.

In one possible embodiment, the sweatband 20 and/or the visor 18 is made of a polymer resin, such as for example a polyolefin resin, more particularly polypropylene. 

1-13. (canceled)
 14. A headwear, in particular a cap, comprising a crown and a visor and a rigid sweatband integral with a curved portion of the peripheral edge of the crown and on which the visor is intended to be assembled, wherein the sweatband comprises at least a first hook and a second hook angularly spaced and angularly oriented in opposite directions to each other around said curved portion, and able to cooperate by elastic snap-fitting, respectively, with at least a first hook and a second hook of the visor in a direction of elastic assembly and disassembly of the visor on the sweatband.
 15. The headwear according to claim 14, wherein the first hook and the second hook of the sweatband are angularly oriented towards the ends of said curved portion and wherein the first hook and the second hook of the visor are angularly oriented towards each other in the assembly position.
 16. The headwear according to claim 14, in which the visor comprises a first wall and a second wall arranged at a distance from each other, the first wall having a concave curved free edge intended to come to bear on said sweatband and connected at its angular ends to a first portion and a second angular end portion laterally delimiting a recess.
 17. The headwear according to claim 16, wherein the first hook of the visor delimits a first angular end of the recess and is formed on said first angular end portion and wherein the second hook (of the visor delimits a second angular end of the recess and is formed on said second angular end portion.
 18. The headwear according to claim 14, wherein the sweatband comprises a flange extending angularly around said curved portion, the first hook of the sweatband being formed at a first angular end of said flange and the second hook of the sweatband being formed at a second angular end of said flange.
 19. The headwear according to claim 18, wherein the flange is generally convexly curved and received in the recess of the bottom wall of the visor in the position of assembling the visor onto the sweatband.
 20. The headwear according to claim 18, wherein the first wall comprises a surface defining a lower surface of the visor which is flush with a lower face of the flange.
 21. The headwear according to claim 18, wherein the first hook of the sweatband is formed at a first angular end of the flange and the second hook of the sweatband is formed at a second angular end of the flange.
 22. The headwear according to claim 14, wherein the first hook and the second hook of the sweatband each have a shape complementary to the first hook and the second hook of the visor, respectively.
 23. The headwear according to claim 14, wherein the sweatband is formed of elastomer and the visor is formed of plastic, e.g. polypropylene.
 24. The headwear according to claim 16, wherein the sweatband comprises a central portion projecting towards the outside of the crown, this central portion being interposed between the first wall and the second wall of the visor.
 25. The headwear according to claim 14, wherein the crown has the shape of a half-sphere and wherein the visor extends outwardly from the crown in the assembly position of the visor on the sweatband.
 26. The headwear according to claim 14, pertaining to a cap. 